Wednesday, 29 March 2017

When you are a small or solo law practice, both you and your office staff are always busy working. While most of that work is vital to the practice, there are actions that can be done to increase productivity by implementing some simple changes to workflow and processes that are very often done internally unnecessarily.

Here are 6 easy ideas worth your time and consideration:

Automate The On Boarding Process

When you are considering taking on a case, especially on contingency fees, you want to know as much as possible about the complaint, the circumstances, the injuries and medical treatment received, and, when possible, the defendant. Often this takes the form of an in-person meeting, if not a simple phone call.

Instead, create a form on your website (with all the necessary controls to avoid non-compliance with HIPAA and Privilege rules) to have the client complete themself. A simple-to-understand and complete form that asks the basic questions referenced above, will determine if the litigant is actually worth pursuing. By giving you the clear authority to review the complaint, basic online search engines will let you know before spending time on what may turn out to be a frivolous or worthless endeavor. Conversely, a scannable agreement for services can be added to an online folder on your server or cloud database, containing all the details pre-filled by the client.

Requesting Medical Records

This can be a nightmare and unnecessary assignment for otherwise billable staff. Many attorneys do not adequately track the time spent completing the request, getting the signoffs from clients, assigning it to the office associate or paralegal, and submitting the proper documents the first time. For example, a request for records based on treatment to date may be declined by a healthcare provider as additional treatments are required and complete, and the authorization for release forms signed months earlier can be declined by the provider as outdated. Thus, a good decision is to have requests done as close to the completion of treatment by a healthcare provider as possible.

Tracking Medical Record Requests

A PI plaintiff may see several healthcare providers, each of who generate separate bills, and records of treatment performed. In some cases, clients reports visiting the wrong hospital, physician or pharmacy, and time is spent chasing a record that truly does not exists. Even when the right provider is identified, it can take a tremendous amount of aggregate time to request, track, exchange state required forms to release records, and collect the data. An outsourced medical record retrieval specialist, proven to do all the work above, can offer a lower cost than in-house resources, and provide it via an online-, encrypted, HIPAA approved website. Fees vary from one record retrieval company to another, but reliable choices exist, and avoid the maze of requesting, tracking, collecting and delivering the medical records necessary to litigate the matter.

Cloud-based practice management applications and data storage

It's a fact. Though many small and solo legal practices may resist, the fact is that eliminating on-premises servers and associated support is the best choice today. Cloud-based solutions reduce cost of maintenance and support, eliminates downtime due to neglected updates to software, and provides access to firm data and client information securely from any location, and popular portable devices such as smartphones and tablets. There are industry/practice specific IT service providers who make this transition from in-office also known as on-premises computer systems easy and cost effective. Even a firm with basic MS Office applications and Time and Billing software can benefit from this transition. It eliminates paper handling and management, and often permits the use of existing, familiar software. It reduces risks of accident loss of data, and quick recovery in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, by providing regular and redundant backups.

Medical Record Summary

Outsourced medical records summarization services helps you screen each case in the most efficient and least disruptive manner. This process works by utilizing organized, summarized and hyper-linked summaries, to evaluate the case much faster with improved accuracy. Whether it requires matching your format, or creating a new one, the best providers works to narrow the focus on the client not the process.

Outsourcing Medical Records Bonus

When you use an outsourced medical record retrieval service, you receive a "hard" invoice attributable to the matter. All costs of filing, recording, tracking, and delivering the records are documented and fees explained. This is a preferred method of charging clients for the time of associates and paralegal to follow up with a variety of healthcare providers. There is no need to present the client with an invoice which they may contest, over the time spent in "chasing down medical records".

Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Premises liability is any form of negligence that results in personal injury while on another’s property. Our attorneys provide professional representation in premises liability litigation.

Accidents Caused by Dangerous or Defective Property Conditions.

Property owners, landlords and property managers have a duty to reasonably maintain, operate and design property to keep it safe for visitors. They must repair known dangers and post adequate warnings of hazardous conditions that cannot be remedied. When they fail to meet this standard, they may be held liable for injuries that take place on their property.

Types of premises liability cases

One of the most common premises liability cases is caused by a slip and fall accident. Slip and fall injuries occur on a daily basis and affect people of all ages. Uneven pavement, poorly lit stairwells, ice and obstructed floors are some common causes of slip and fall accidents. Always contact an experienced slip and fall attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga Review if you suffer any type of injury because of these hazardous conditions.

Below is a list of additional accidents that are considered premises liability situations:

Carbon monoxide leaks

Dog bites

Electric shock due to exposed electric wiring

Inadequate security measures enabling assaults

Falling debris, merchandise, or hanging hazards

Asbestos exposure and mesothelioma

As with all personal injury cases for our clients, there is absolutely no cost to you unless we win your case. Do not hesitate to contact an attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga if you have been injured and your case involves premises liability.

Thursday, 2 March 2017

Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured during the course of employment.

You Are Not Alone

Workplace injuries are more common than most people believe. There are an estimated 139,064,000 civilian workers in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each day, many of these workers suffer injury, disability, and even death from workplace incidents. On average, more than 4,500 United States workers die in a typical year from occupational injuries. Although difficult to enumerate, annually about 49,000 deaths are attributed to work-related illnesses.

An estimated 3.9 million workers suffer from nonfatal occupational injury or illness in a given year. Of those workers, 2 million are transferred, placed on work restrictions, or take time off of work. An estimated 2.6 million workers are treated in emergency departments for occupational injuries and illnesses, and approximately 110,000 of these workers are hospitalized.

We Will Guide You through the Process

The lawyers at Kanner & Pintaluga Review work tirelessly to make the process of filing for Workers’ Compensation benefits as seamless as possible for our clients. Our attorneys are able to handle all aspects of your case. We will identify the responsible parties, help you file your claim and keep you informed throughout the progress of your case.

Typical Workplace Injuries

Injuries that frequently happen in the workplace include:

Bodily reactions — slips and trips

Sprains, strains and tears

Falls

Struck by objects

Struck against object

Caught in/compressed by objects

Repetitive motion injury

Assaults or violent acts

Driving accidents

Heavy equipment malfunctions and mishaps

Overexertion — lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, carrying

We are Here for You and Your Family

To ensure you get the highest possible recovery for to cover the costs of your injuries, contact the personal injury attorneys at Kanner & Pintaluga. When your family is counting on you, you can count on us.

As with all personal injury cases for our clients, there is absolutely no cost to you unless we win your case. Do not hesitate to contact an attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga Review if you have been injured while on the job. To schedule a consultation with an attorney regarding your workers compensation claim, please call 1–800–586–5555 or feel free to contact us via email.

Thursday, 5 January 2017

Motorcycle accidents are not more usual than other types of accidents, however, it is more likely to consequence in serious injury or death. There are more deaths from motorcycle accidents than from car accidents. So it becomes necessary for motorcyclists to learn about the most common causes of accidents and then use the safety measure to avoid or reduce their level of risk.

Kanner & Pintaluga Review accident attorneys of US has shared some frequent causes of motorcycle accident injuries which can be avoided.

Head-On Collisions

In a head on collision crashes involving motorcycles and other vehicles account for motorcycle accident deaths. In majority cases the car strikes the motorcycle from the front and in the rear cases, car strikes the motorcycle from the rear. The front collision is often fatal to the motorcyclist.

Speeding & Alcohol Use

That is the major reason of the accidents involving a single motorcycle are due to speeding and alcohol use. These factors play a large role in accidents between cars and motorcycle. As motorcycles don’t provide much protection to the rider, crashes like this are much more likely to result in death or fatal injury.

Left-Hand Turns

This is the single most serious situation for motorcyclists occurs when cars are making left-hand turns. This happens when a motorcycle is going straight through an intersection, passing the car or trying to overtake the car. This can happen with two cars, however motorcycle due to smaller size is less noticeable to the turning vehicle.

High Performance Motorcycles

High Performance motorcycle involving a small portion of the overall motorcycle accidents on the road. The two types of high performance motorcycle are super sport motorcycles and sport motorcycles

Super sport motorcycles have high horse power, hence have high speed up to 160 mph. basically, they are built on racing podiums that are modified for the road use. Due to their high speed, they are most popular with the riders of age under 30, which is another causing factor to the greater rate of motorcycle accidents since young riders are less careful and take more risks than mature riders.

Sport motorcycles are same as super sport motorcycles, but have a lesser power. The accident rate of these types’ motorcycles is less than super sport motorcycles.

According to Kanner & Pintaluga Review, Motorcyclists are more at danger for fatal accidents on the road than any other vehicle. Motorcycle riders can increase their safety by getting aware of the above mentioned common reasons of accidents.

Wednesday, 7 December 2016

80% percent of senior falls occur in the bathroom. This does not mean that the younger generation is not prone to the risk of slip and falls as well. It is estimated that approximately 235,000 people ages 15 and older make a trip to the emergency room as a result of bathroom fall injuries. Close to 14% of those injuries are hospitalized.

Public bathrooms, as well as your personal bathroom in your home, should befall proofed. Below Kanner & Pintaluga Review has shared with you a few tips that could help to prevent bathroom falls:

Use nightlights in the bathroom so you’re able to better see if it’s dark.

Have grab bars installed by the toilet to make sitting and standing easier. You can also install grab bars inside the showers or bathtubs to prevent falls.

Keep shower and tubs clean of soapy build up.

Place non-slip mats or adhesive strips inside and outside the bathtub and/or shower.

Showers with shatterproof glass are the best way to prevent water leaking onto the bathroom floor. If you are unable to install this type of shower, using a curtain liner inside the tub as well as a decorative shower curtain outside the tub can minimize leaks.

If the bathtub or shower is not easily accessible, purchase a bath step or walk-in tub.

Never use a space heater in the bathroom water. Water, toilet paper, or tissue can easily cause hazards when in contact with an electric space heater.

Install the bathroom door so that it swings outward. This will help in the event of a fall.

Fall accidents tend to leave the victims with sprains, bruising, broken bones and other injuries that are often times difficult to recover from. With the use of the bathroom tip, we may help more falls be prevented. Regardless of the age of the victim, slip and fall accidents can be extremely dangerous. It is vital that you protect yourself from these slip and fall injuries by taking these safety precautions.

Monday, 28 November 2016

Florida is known for its sunshine. Ironically, it’s also known for its rainy weather. And with spring here and summer aka hurricane season soon to come, rain will be quite common. When the roads are wet, your chance of being involved in an accident increases. This is due to the decreased visibility and how the roads become more slippery when they are wet. Hydroplaning also becomes an issue when there is heavy rain — a common occurrence in Florida.

The Federal Highway Administration cited wet pavement as a contributing factor in 73 percent of the weather-related crashes that were reported from 2004 to 2013. Wet pavement can be making normal driving maneuvers more difficult. This is why drivers need to adjust how they drive according to the weather and other factors in their driving environment, such as the tine of the day and the traffic patterns.

According to Kanner & Pintaluga Review, many car accidents that occur during rainy weather are due to drivers’ failure to adjust to the conditions.

Some examples of specific ways drivers put themselves and others at risk or being involved in collisions during rainstorms include:

Following other cars too closely

Using cruise control

Failure to slow down

Taking turns too sharply

Not responding to skid

Not using headlights

Driving with worn-out windshield

The main thing you can do to protect yourself and others when driving in the rain is adjusting how you drive according to the current weather conditions.

Wednesday, 16 November 2016

Bicycle riding is fun, healthy, and a great way to enjoy with your friends when going to a picnic spot. But it is important to remember that a bicycle is not a toy; it’s a vehicle as well. Before using your bicycle, make sure it is ready to ride.

To prevent accidents and injuries, The law firm Kanner & Pintaluga Review has shared here some safety tips while riding a bicycle:

The bike should be the appropriate size for your height and weight.

Always wear a bicycle helmet that must is federally approved.

Before riding a bike check if the brakes and reflectors are working properly.

Be visible to other motorists especially during the nighttime. Wear bright clothing, and have reflectors that will allow other road users to see them.

Do not listen to music while riding; this may prevent you hearing your surroundings.

Choose residential areas rather than clogged highways and streets when riding a bike.

Your speed should be based on the road condition and volume of traffic.

Maintain a safe distance from parked cars to prevent being hit by doors that may open.

Make sure to use the proper hand signals when stopping, turning, or changing lanes.

Get off your bike when crossing a pedestrian lane.

Be careful when crossing intersections.

Be extra careful when there is a passing truck or bus because of their larger blind spots.